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Excitement is rising as the country prepares to witness the skies being lit up by a supermoon.

It is the closest the full moon has been to earth since 1948, and if you miss it tonight, well you are going to have to wait another 18 years to see one as bright and as big as this one.

There will be another supermoon this year, on December 14, but it will not be as impressive as the one due to grace our skies this evening.

So tonight, it's time to wrap up warm, brave the cold and head outside.

Last night's moon in north London (Photo: Twitter/@barnet_rebel)

What is a supermoon?

The sighting of a supermoon occurs when the moon is its closest to Earth.

"The moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly elliptical so sometimes it is closer and sometimes it’s farther away." said American space agency, NASA.

"When the moon is full as it makes its closest pass to Earth it is known as a supermoon."

The moon we will witness tonight will be up to 14% larger than normal and will shine 30% more light onto Earth.

But the term 'supermoon' is relatively new, to astronomers it is known as a 'perigee-syzygy[, which simply means that the moon is at its closest to the Earth, the opposite is a an apogee-syzygy, known more widely as a micromoon.

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Will I be able to see it?

Even though the moon is shining much brighter than usual, extensive could across London could make sightings problematic.

For London, the weather forecast is cloudy, the Met Office has said: "Remaining cloudy and breezy overnight with a little patchy light rain in places, mainly during the early part of the night. Most places remaining dry and feeling mild."

And spokesman for the Met Office, Grahame Madge isn't very hopeful though.

"The forecast doesn't look that optimistic for people hoping for a glimpse of the supermoon," he said.

He warned of "extensive cloud, particularly at crucial times" and although he says there could be a break in cloud, the chances of Londoners seeing the supermoon is "much much lower" than those looking into the skies on the east coast.

On the eve of the supermoon, November 13, the cloud was relatively clear and Londoner's took to social media to share their pictures.